before 900;Middle English (noun), Old English; cognate with Dutch,GermanWind,Old Norsevindr,Gothicwinds,Latinventus

Synonyms

1. Wind,air,zephyr,breeze,blast,gust refer to a quantity of air set in motion naturally. Wind applies to any such air in motion, blowing with whatever degree of gentleness or violence. Air, usually poetical, applies to a very gentle motion of the air. Zephyr, also poetical, refers to an air characterized by its soft, mild quality. A breeze is usually a cool, light wind. Blast and gust apply to quick, forceful winds of short duration; blast implies a violent rush of air, often a cold one, whereas a gust is little more than a flurry. 16. flatulence.

the air on which the scent of an animal is carried to hounds or on which the scent of a hunter is carried to his quarry

13.

between wind and water

the part of a vessel's hull below the water line that is exposed by rolling or by wave action

any point particularly susceptible to attack or injury

14.

break wind, to release intestinal gas through the anus

15.

(informal) get the wind up, have the wind up, to become frightened

16.

have in the wind, to be in the act of following (quarry) by scent

17.

how the wind blows, how the wind lies, which way the wind blows, which way the wind lies, what appears probable

18.

in the wind, about to happen

19.

(informal) three sheets in the wind, intoxicated; drunk

20.

in the teeth of the wind, in the eye of the wind, directly into the wind

21.

into the wind, against the wind or upwind

22.

(nautical) off the wind, away from the direction from which the wind is blowing

23.

(nautical) on the wind, as near as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

24.

(informal) put the wind up, to frighten or alarm

25.

(Brit, informal) raise the wind, to obtain the necessary funds

26.

sail close to the wind, sail near to the wind

to come near the limits of danger or indecency

to live frugally or manage one's affairs economically

27.

take the wind out of someone's sails, to destroy someone's advantage; disconcert or deflate

verb (transitive)

28.

to cause (someone) to be short of breath: the blow winded him

29.

to detect the scent of

to pursue (quarry) by following its scent

30.

to cause (a baby) to bring up wind after feeding by patting or rubbing on the back

31.

to expose to air, as in drying, ventilating, etc

Derived Forms

windless, adjectivewindlessly, adverbwindlessness, noun

Word Origin

Old English wind; related to Old High German wint, Old Norse vindr, Gothic winds, Latin ventus

wind2

/waɪnd/

verb winds, winding, wound

1.

often foll by around, about, or upon. to turn or coil (string, cotton, etc) around some object or point or (of string, etc) to be turned etc, around some object or point: he wound a scarf around his head

2.

(transitive) to twine, cover, or wreathe by or as if by coiling, wrapping, etc; encircle: we wound the body in a shroud

3.

(transitive) often foll by up. to tighten the spring of (a clockwork mechanism)

4.

(transitive) foll by off. to remove by uncoiling or unwinding

5.

(usually intransitive) to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course: the river winds through the hills

6.

(transitive) to introduce indirectly or deviously: he is winding his own opinions into the report

7.

(transitive) to cause to twist or revolve: he wound the handle

8.

(transitive; usually foll by up or down) to move by cranking: please wind up the window

9.

(transitive) to haul, lift, or hoist (a weight, etc) by means of a wind or windlass

Normal pronunciation evolution made this word rhyme with kind and rind (Donne rhymes it with mind), but it shifted to a short vowel 18c., probably from influence of windy, where the short vowel is natural. A sad loss for poets, who now must rhyme it only with sinned and a handful of weak words. Symbolic of emptiness and vanity since late 13c.

I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind. [Ernest Dowson, 1896]

Meaning "breath" is attested from late Old English; especially "breath in speaking" (early 14c.), so long-winded, also "easy or regular breathing" (early 14c.), hence second wind in the figurative sense (by 1830), an image from the sport of hunting.

Figurative phrase which way the wind blows for "the current state of affairs" is suggested from c.1400. To get wind of "receive information about" is by 1809, perhaps inspired by French avoir le vent de. To take the wind out of (one's) sails in the figurative sense (by 1883) is an image from sailing, where a ship without wind can make no progress. Wind-chill index is recorded from 1939. Wind energy from 1976. Wind vane from 1725.

"an act of winding round," 1825, from wind (v.1) . Earlier, "an apparatus for winding," late 14c., in which use perhaps from a North Sea Germanic word, e.g. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German winde "windlass."

Related to wend, which is its causative form, and to wander. Wind down "come to a conclusion" is recorded from 1952; wind up "come to a conclusion" is from 1825. Winding sheet "shroud of a corpse" is attested from early 15c.

"to perceive by scent, get wind of," early 15c., from wind (n.1). Of horns, etc., "make sound by blowing through," from 1580s. Meaning "tire, put out of breath; render temporarily breathless by a blow or punch" is from 1811, originally in pugilism. Related: Winded; winding.

A current of air, especially a natural one that moves along or parallel to the ground, moving from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Surface wind is measured by anemometers or its effect on objects, such as trees. The large-scale pattern of winds on Earth is governed primarily by differences in the net solar radiation received at the Earth's surface, but it is also influenced by the Earth's rotation, by the distribution of continents and oceans, by ocean currents, and by topography. On a local scale, the differences in rate of heating and cooling of land versus bodies of water greatly affect wind formation. Prevailing global winds are classified into three major belts in the Northern Hemisphere and three corresponding belts in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds blow generally east to west toward a low-pressure zone at the equator throughout the region from 30° north to 30° south of the equator. The westerlies blow from west to east in the temperate mid-latitude regions (from 30° to 60° north and south of the equator), and the polar easterlies blow from east to west out of high-pressure areas in the polar regions. See also Beaufort scale, chinook, foehn, monsoon, Santa Ana.